Gokongwei group opens 220-room hotel in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Robinsons Hotels and Resorts officially opened the 220-room Summit Hotel Galleria Cebu, the second hotel facility of the Gokongwei-led company in Cebu.

Currently, the hotel is operating with 80 to 90 rooms available for commercial accommodation. By the end of September 2017, it will be fully operational, said Robinsons Hotels and Resorts general manager Elizabeth Gregorio.

The eight-storey Robinsons Summit Hotel Galleria provides a boost of Cebu's accommodation offering, as an alternative to the existing international chains operating in Cebu.

"It’s a full-service hotel, with industrial and contemporary looks, but a lot of Cebu elements," said Gregorio.

Capitalizing on the strong growth of Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibit (MICE) market, the hotel has a huge ballroom, and function facilities that accommodates 500 people at one time.

Developed by Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), the company is partnering with Manila-based Raintree Hospitality Group to manage the hotel's restaurants.

According to Gregorio, aside from the strong MICE and influx of foreign tourists to Cebu, the company is also counting on the active domestic market – Filipinos traveling within the country.

Robinsons Summit Galleria Cebu is the second hotel property of the Gokongwei-group in Cebu. The company is currently operating over 200 rooms Summit Hotel at the Fuente Osmeña circle.

The Group will soon have three hotels in Cebu, – the Summit Shores Resorts, which will be part of the upscale Amisa residential development in Mactan Island will be operating in partnership with Dusit Thani Group.

RLC president Frederick Go said in an earlier interview that as the company has almost used up its available land bank in Cebu, there is a need for additional land banking acquisition, while robust opportunities for real estate in Cebu ca nnot be downplayed.

"We are looking for available land for developments within the province," said Go,  a Cebuano who is in-charge of the real estate business of JG Summit Group. (FREEMAN)